This thread will be a series of topics taken mostly from the informative web site http://www.answering-islam.org/

Many discussions are being had and many fallacies are being put forth regarding "radical Islam" as if it is a usurpation of the "real Islam" by those who commit willful violence in the form of beheadings, rapes, tortures, massacres, pillaging, etc. all in the name of Allah.

Due to the ever increasing acts of terrorism (most recently by members of "ISIS") people try to reconcile what is "true Islam" or what is really "Islamic". Well, how does one come to a true answer?

Begin with the simple definition of “Islamic.” There are good online definitions. Mine is: “that which conforms to the Quran, imitates Muhammad’s life, and obeys Islam’s laws.”

However, more detailed criteria are needed to arrive at a confident yes or no answer for “Is ISIS Islamic?”

We need a standard, an “Islamic measurement standard,” to compare ISIS against, and evaluate if ISIS is aligned with, or contradicts, that standard.

Muhammad should be the “Islamic measurement standard.” Was there ever a greater Muslim than Muhammad? Is there anyone more worthy for Muslims to imitate? Of course not! Muslims are commanded to imitate Muhammad’s lifestyle and obey Muhammad (Quran 3:132 and 33:21). Muhammad embodied Islam and Muhammad practiced what he preached. Muhammad obeyed his Allah faithfully. Additionally his closest friends and devotees, his “Companions,” those men that knew him best, certainly understood his commands and we can also look to their actions to understand what he had commanded.

Wouldn’t it then make sense to use Muhammad, and by this I mean his teachings, actions, and doctrine, as our Islamic measurement standard? Wouldn’t it be logical to correlate ISIS’s actions with these and determine if ISIS conforms?

Muhammad’s teachings, actions, and doctrines are found in the Islamic source materials: the Quran, hadith, and sira. These have been studied and codified as Islamic theology. You could obtain “The Reliance of the Traveller,” in English, if you wish to understand this in some depth.

If you’re familiar with these Islamic source materials these questions are not difficult to answer. Muhammad’s life and teachings are not only well recorded; they are some of the best documented records of any great religious teacher. There are far more details available about Muhammad’s life than there are about Jesus’s, Moses’s, and Buddha’s.

Muhammad: can you think of a more strict, more rigorous, more robust Islamic standard for us to use to measure ISIS against?

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Now, compare that to what should be the "Christian measurement standard" for those who claim to follow Christianity - the model of Jesus of Nazareth. In my opinion, the majority of so-called "muslims" do NOT conform to the paradigmatic figure of their declared faith.

The same can be said for the so-called Christians; most who profess Christianity do not conform to Jesus' Ways, message, doctrines, actions, teachings, etc. The difference is that true Christians realize this and continue to strive in order to emulate the life of Jesus as best they can. For most of us, it is a lifelong endeavor and journey. However, there are institutionalized "Churches" who call themselves Christian yet in NO WAY emulate the teachings, actions, and doctrine of Jesus. Unfortunately, the majority of "Churches" fall into that category albeit with varying levels of shortcomings and/or direct conflicts.

The Muslims who claim to be "moderate", and the true interpreters of the message of Islam and the Koran, do NOT conform to the teachings, actions, and doctrine of the figure that they claim to be the model of Islam, Muhammed. How can people claim to be the true followers of a certain faith if they deny the teachings, actions, and doctrine of the actual founder, and greatest figure of, said faith? Do moderate muslims renounce Muhammed or do they praise him as the greatest prophet that ever lived?

Compare that to how Christians view the teachings, actions, and doctrine of Jesus. What kind of Christian would renounce Jesus or deny his teachings, actions, and doctrine?